La Loche grocery store to reopen after cleaning: mayor

A La Loche grocery store that temporarily closed because an employee tested positive for COVID-19 may reopen in the coming days after a detailed cleaning, according to the town’s mayor.

The Northern Grocery is one of only two stores selling fresh food in the northern community, which is currently at the epicentre of the province’s largest outbreak of COVID-19.

It closed after an employee tested positive for the virus on Thursday night, which raised worries about food security in the region.

Mayor Robert St. Pierre said the store will reopen in “a day or two at the most” after it undergoes cleaning and new staff are hired so that existing employees can self-isolate at home. “Right now it is a concern, but they’re taking measures ... we’ll be up and running again shortly,” St. Pierre said.

Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency president Marlo Pritchard confirmed Friday that the store would open on Saturday “unless something goes sideways.”

The North West Company, which owns the store, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

FOOD ON THE TABLE

Residents say fresh food is more important than ever as people stay at home in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. As of Friday afternoon, the province had counted 179 cases of COVID-19 in the far north, most of them in La Loche and the surrounding region.

Georgina Jolibois, the former NDP MP for the riding of Desnethé—missinippi—churchill River, noted getting food is especially important for elders.

“With the strict guidelines in place, elders and seniors have been asked to stay at home,” she said. “But that raises the question of how they get food.”

Chai Daongam is the part-owner and pharmacist at Centerpoint Grocery and Pharmacist, the village’s other grocery store.

He said the store has pivoted to online ordering and pickup since the outbreak began. It’s the right thing to do but it means the work is “hectic” as staff try to keep up with demand for orders. “We’re running on all four cylinders,” he said. “Our supply train hasn’t been interrupted or disrupted or anything like that ... but it’s more labour to actually get it to the people.”

Daongam said there is a language and technological barrier with some residents who only speak Dene or don’t have phones to call the store, but their younger relatives and volunteers have stepped up to get groceries to where they are needed.

“This is a very tight-knit community,” he said.